albertabrightalberta
I bought this Madison Phoebe at an estate sale at a mansion full of designer clothing.
I felt sure it was real. Creed number is A1393- 24621. The quality is superb inside and out. But when I began researching I started to have doubts.
Firstly, it has no YKK zipper as far as I can see, and so many people say it must have that to be authentic?
Secondly, you can see the metal COACH embellishment on the side of the bag stands alone (last photo).No little coach and horses above, no "New York" below. I've seen many identical bags with the stand alone name like mine, then others with the three symbols. Which are real?
Lastly, I've seen some identical bags with "COACH" etched into the metal pieces that connect the straps to the bag. Mine are just unetched silver (second last photo). Any help you can provide would be SO much appreciated!
The bag is absolutely authentic.
But I have a couple of comments about why you suspected that it's fake.
1. Firstly, it has no YKK zipper as far as I can see, and so many people say it must have that to be authentic?
Whatever guide you're reading that pushes the "YKK myth" is not a guide with accurate information and if it has that misinformation, there's probably more bad info. Search for "Salearea Coach guides" for accurate info.
Zipper brand has absolutely NOTHING to do with authenticity. Coach has used YKK as well as at least 5 other zipper brands over the years. Additionally, if a zipper breaks, it can be replaced by another zipper that may or may not be a brand that Coach used or uses.
But because counterfeiters read the same nonsense that you read, 99% of fakes have either genuine or fake YKK zippers! (Yup, zippers are faked too.)
2. Secondly, you can see the metal COACH embellishment on the side of the bag stands alone (last photo).No little coach and horses above, no "New York" below. I've seen many identical bags with the stand alone name like mine, then others with the three symbols. Which are real?
Some bags have the horse and carriage logo and others do not. Every bag needs to be evaluated on its own merits. You MUST compare apples to apples, that is, exact same item to exact same item. Compare other "24621" styles. (This isn't to say all are authentic but again, it needs to be apples to apples.)
3. Lastly, I've seen some identical bags with "COACH" etched into the metal pieces that connect the straps to the bag. Mine are just unetched silver (second last photo). Any help you can provide would be SO much appreciated!
Please show an example of an identical bag with an engraved name. (One bag that's listed as 24621 is actually 26224. NOT apples to apples!)
Thank you for all your help! Here are photos of what I thought was the identical bag, but I see that the Creed number is actually different. Hopefully that explains it?
